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The effect of parental age, experience and historical reproductive success on wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) chick growth and survival

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Abstract

Growth and survival of altricial young are influenced by their parents’ abilities to invest in a breeding attempt. As a result, chick growth and survival in one breeding season may be indicative of their parents’ long-term reproductive potential. To determine whether variation in long-term reproductive success is driven by differential breeding investment, parental care and chick growth in wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) were correlated with parental historical reproductive success. Effects of age and breeding experience (determined from past breeding attempts) and pre-laying body condition (mass–size indices) on chick growth and survival also were tested. Longer brooding of chicks increased their survival, but length of chick brooding did not differ between historically unproductive and successful breeders. Past reproductive success also was not correlated with chick growth rates or fledging mass or size. Chick brooding period, chick growth rates, final mass and size were independent of parental body condition. Older and more experienced parents brooded chicks for longer and their chicks grew faster, supporting previous findings that breeding competence is a learnt skill. Chick care and growth characteristics differed more between than within pairs, suggesting that differences in these characteristics are driven by variation among pairs.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to members of four Marion Expeditions (M63–M66) for assistance with weighing chicks. Long-term monitoring of wandering albatrosses at Marion Island was initiated by John Cooper. Genetic sexing was performed by Mareile Techow and the DNA Sequencing Unit, Central Analytical Facility, Stellenbosch University. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript. Financial and logistical support was provided by the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology and the South African National Antarctic Programme (through the National Research Foundation).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    M. Genevieve W. Jones, Ben J. Dilley, Quentin A. Hagens, Henk Louw, Edith M. Mertz, Paul Visser & Peter G. Ryan

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  1. M. Genevieve W. Jones
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Correspondence to M. Genevieve W. Jones.

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Jones, M.G.W., Dilley, B.J., Hagens, Q.A. et al. The effect of parental age, experience and historical reproductive success on wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) chick growth and survival. Polar Biol 37, 1633–1644 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1550-6

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